, 1887-07-14
WASHINGTON NOTES.
A Big Treasury steal discovered.

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WASHINGTON, July S.-Something
of sensation was created in the treas
ury department this afternoon by the
discovery that trusted official in that
department had been guilty OF sys-
tematic attempt to defraud the gov
ernment. The officer was arrested mt
Wilkesbarre yesterday afternoon as he
was about to take the train for Wash
ington and his dismissal from the SER
vice was ordered by Secretary Fair
child this afternoon. His name is
Oscar j. Harvey, and he has been em.
ployed in the department since June,
1885, when he was appointed chief Of
the horse claims, division of the third
auditors office. 1t was while he held
this position that he perpetrated the
frauds with which he is now charged.
On the I'd OF June last he was trans
ferred to the head office OF the division
in the second comptroller Office,
division which has charge
of the claims of the same
nature as those in the division which
he had just left. Austin II. Brown, Of
Indianapolis, succeeded Harvey as
chief of the horse claims, and soon
after he took charge of the Office he
discovered frauds OF which his prede-
SCISSOR had been guilty. This consist.
ed OF the passage of forty-three fraud
ulent claims for horses, aggregating
$92 900, and the preparation OF many
additional cases OF similar character
which were under consideration in the
Office. In most cases the claims are
for horses lost during the late war,
and are presented in the names OF
officers of Pennsylvania and New
Jersey regiments. All OF the cases
appeared to have been prosecuted by
w. w. Wynn, first of Philadelphia
and then Of Washington, and the
services of j. G. Manifold, notary pub.
lie, of Philadelphia, were called into
requisition in connection with the
necessary affidavits. The work in
volved the stealing of numerous in
eliminating papers from the files OF
the department. In thirteen claims
it was found that signatures, involving
the names of thirty-eight officers, were
forgeries. Subsequently it was found
the second auditors name had been
forged in certificates received from
that officer, and also that none of the
Pennsylvania and New Jersey cases,
in which Wynn was attorney, were
entered on the records of that Office.
Claims which had been allowed were
then overhauled, and in almost every
instance it was found that the second
auditors certificates, as to signatures,
had been distracted, together with
other papers. The stamp of the mail
room at the third auditors office, and
the stamp OF the horse claims division
had been forged and the dates arranged
so as to bring them within
the limitation fixed for filing these
claims. The stamp of the quartermas-
ter-generals Office was also forged.
Drafts were regularly issued, and an
examination of such as have been re-
turned as paid shows that Harvey and
Wynn are one and the same person,
and that although the drafts were
drawn in favor of the claimant, the
money with one or two exceptions
went directly to Harvey or some rela
tives. He had secured their payment
by forging the signature of the payee
and then endorsing the drafts with
his own name. Montfort, a Phila-
delphia notary public, like Wynn,
was found to be myth.
Most of the notaries and persons
named in the claims are unknown to
the department. In addition to the
forty-three cases passed there have
been $50 similar cases adjusted, ag-
gregating $4,000, and there are still
pending unadjudged sixty-eight cases,
amounting to 600, making total
of 16l fraudulent cases which might
eventually have been paid but for the
discovery. Harvey was brought to
the city by officers Of the secret service
who have kept him under surveillance
since he was first suspected. He
asked to see the secretary and when
he was informed of the evidence
against him he broke down completely
and made full confession OF his guilt